Scenes 9 and 10 Summary

These scenes introduce an important figure into Merrick's life and development.

Scene 9 - Most Important are Women Treves has a conversation with the witty, charming and popular actress, Mrs. Kendal. He explains that Merrick is desperate to live a normal life and comments that developing relationships with women, who to this point have found him repulsive, is an important key. He suggests that if he meets Mrs. Kendal, a woman trained to hide her true feelings and portray others, it will help immensely (the implication here is that Mrs. Kendal will be able to mask her disgust with friendliness at seeing Merrick). Mrs. Kendal teases him with playful but pointed comments about his preconceptions, tests out various ways of greeting Merrick and settles on one. She then asks what she considers an important question. Without actually using the word, she inquires...